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Dec 10, 2010

KCET releases 2011 programming details

KCET in Los Angeles, going independent of PBS membership on Jan. 1, 2011, has announced its lineup. Pubcasting programmers have been waiting to see how the station will fill its schedule without longtime PBS staples like Frontline, Masterpiece and Antiques Roadshow.

According to the station, KCET will have a "new on-air look" and organized "themed viewing blocks" to make it easier for viewers to find shows.

On primetime:

Sunday: Hollywood movies. First Works looks at how directors approach their craft. The new Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies offers film critiques, and KCET Presents runs popular movie titles.

Monday: Action and travel. There's Globe Trekker; MI5, following British secret service agents; Rick Steves’ Europe; and Burt Wolf: Travels & Traditions, introducing local customs from around the world.

Tuesday: Science and innovation.The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, highlighting rare wildlife along with science and technology; following will be "an evening of documentaries that explore a range of thought-provoking topics and current events," the station said in the release.

Wednesday: Drama. Robert Vaughn stars in Hustle, about a grifter who works with a team of con artists with a conscience in England. Helen Mirren stars in Prime Suspect; and The Write Environment features local filmmaker Jeffrey Berman conducting one-on-one interviews with screenwriters.

Thursday: Eclectic. There's the weekly premiere of KCET's longtime pubaffairs show SoCal Connected. Also, Doc Martin, the British medical comedy/drama; and The Aviators, which looks at the latest advances in aircraft and aviation technology.

Friday: News. The McLaughlin Group, followed by an encore of SoCal Connected. There's BBC World News; Inside E Street, with developments affecting economic security, health care and retirement; Inside Washington; NHK Newsline and its updates from Japan and other Asian countries; and Scully/The World Show, featuring one-on-one interviews with prominent personalities.

On daytime:

KCET will continue to feature morning children’s programming, with two Jim Henson Co. productions: Construction Site, in both English and Spanish, and The Wubulous World of Dr. Seuss. Also, the station's Peabody Award-winning series for parents and caregivers, A Place of Our Own and Los Niños en Su Casa, will continue.

The rest of the day focuses on cuisine and travel, with shows hosted by culinary experts Lydia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin and Rick Bayless; Smart Travels – Pacific Rim; Journeys in Japan; Travelscope; and 13 Wonders of Spain.

Nightly news: NHK Newsline at 6 p.m., BBC World News at 6:30 p.m.

The local favorite Visiting with Huell Howser also will remain exclusively on KCET.

Mary Mazur, KCET executive vice president and chief content officer, said in the statement: “We intend to collaborate with the talented and diverse creative voices here in Southern California, in addition to acquiring programming in the genres our viewers have come to enjoy over the years.”

3 comments:

I agree that this is not inspired, but in the long term, KCET may be crazy like a fox. All PTV stations need to be thinking about how they would program their stations if PBS ceased to be economically viable.